Optimal design of a light commercial freezer through the analysis of the combined effects of capillary tube diameter and refrigerant charge on the performance

• The performance optimization of a light commercial freezer is presented.
• The optimization of capillary tube diameter and refrigerant charge is numerically carried out.
• The useful region of the performance map is analyzed taking into account several design parameters.
• The influence of different ambient conditions on the performance of the system is analyzed.

In this work, a discussion on a methodology to optimize the performance of a commercial freezer by using a simulation tool is presented. In order to provide a practical tool for deciding the best combination of refrigerant charge and capillary tube diameter, the results of the numerical studies are shown in the form of two-dimensional maps. The usefulness of this type of representation lies in the possibility of selecting the best operating point of the system, taking into account not only the efficiency or the power consumption but also the technical constrictions imposed by parameters such as the suction line temperature, the condenser subcooling, the evaporator superheat, and the run-time ratio. The discussion leads to the conclusion that the useful performance map is drastically reduced when all the operation requirements must be satisfied. Once the system design had been optimized, an additional numerical study, aimed at identifying the influence of the external conditions on the system behavior, was performed. The results show that the performance reduction can be effectively minimized modifying the refrigerant charge.